Releasing device



Jang, 11, H924 R. CHILTON ET AL RELEASING DEVICE Filed Nov. 23. 1922 ramen Jaa. i, ieee;

narrany stares intatta PATENT @ENCE ROLAND CHILTON AND ALEXAND-ER KING, F KEYPORT, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO A EBOMRNE PLANE & MOTOR COMPANY, A CORPORATION ,NEW YORK.

BELESING DEVICE.

Application led November 23, 1922. Serial No. 602,76e.

T o all 'whom t rmay concern.'

Be it known that we, ROLAND CHIL'roN, av subject of the King of England, and ALEX- AND1-:n H. KING, a citizen of the United States, and both. residents of Keyport, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Releasing Devices, of which the following is a specification, referl@ ence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

rlhis invention relates to devices of general application wherever it is desired to transmit movement from a driving to a driven member and the invention specifically relates to an improvement in releasing devices in which the driving member is maintained in operative driving relation with the driven member only under normal conditions. o

rlhe present embodiment and its specilic application as herewith illustrated, constitutes a manually operated starting device detachably connected to the shaft of an internal combustion engine by which the enine is started or turned over manually, although it is obvious that the embodiment as shown and described can be made applicable to driving connections other than those a@ manually operated by only slight modifications therein and without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The present invention constitutes an improvement over the disclosure in the aplication of Roland Chilton, 500,805 tiled leptember 15, 1921, in which a frictional engaging clutch with inertia control was disclosed. ln the present application there is featured a positive or non-frictional driving means which is also inertially disengaged or demeshed.

For certain requirements the engagement is objectionable on account o the relatively large diameter of the clutchc in elements necessary to adord adequate frlctional grip, and in such tive engagement between the driving and' driven member which is featured .in the present disclosure is of advantage 1n that te the mechanism can be disposed in a much smaller space. For instance, an automatic releasing device according to the present disclosure can be located at the hub or center of a hand starting crank without causing frictional cases the posia cumbersome structure which location would not be practicable in the case where thedrelatively large friction members were use ln devices of the class here contemplated, a release between driven and the driving member is eHecte-d under full load and where square trip faces of the prior art are used to accomplish a release, bound to develop. It will be understood that as one trip face is moved across its companion towards the disengaging point the areas in contact/are continuously decreasing until at the instant of release or just as the corners of the trip surfaces disengage the intensity of pressure becomes extremely high.

One of the objects therefore of this. in-

vention is to provide a trip mechanism which will release under full load conditions and wherein the intensity of pressure between the tripping parts will remain at a constant and moderate figure throughout the whole tripping movement up to and including the instant of release. "We attain this object of the invention b'y interposing a roller between thetrip faces so proportioned as to be capable of sustaining the loads involved without distress.

ln the previous art there are many devices whereby it is attempted to restrain the backward rotation of the driving means by a ratchet or other one way device rigidl anchored against reverse rotation. Sucli rigidly anchored devices for positively preventing reverse rotation of the hand crank have also been used to actuate releasing devices for severing the driving connection between the cranking means and the engine. Any such device is open to the objection that the releasing means must come into contact with the fixed element before the releasing f action is initiated. But instantly this contact with the fixed means is established, the full force of the back fire is imposed upon the whole mechanism whichv then forcibly restrains the engine from reverse rotation until the demeshin movement is complete.

lt should be un' rotation of the engine under a back hre 1s extremely violent, s o much so that the inertia of the crank handle alone is often sufficient to fracture the mechanism when a -bach `tire occurs. This condition is esperapid wear is erstood that the reversel ica cially troublesome in connection with aircraft engines for which geared up cranking means must be employed which greatly increases the eective inertia Voi the parts and which necessarily includes in the system gears and their bearings and housing which constitute an additional liability to breakage.

Further, in connection with aircraft en" gines, the crank handle is generallyre uired to be detachable and owing tothe re ative light character of the fusela e or other airplane structure wherefrom t e crank shaft issuesfrom the machine to receive the handle, no suiliciently strong anchorage for a fixed member for forcibly restraining reverse rotation is available. An object of this invention is to ali'ord a back fire releasing device which will be independent of fixed abutments and which may accordingly be incorporated entirely upon a detachable cranking-handle.

The prior art also shows back fire devices .wherein it is necessary to edect some manual ad'ustment of the parts in order to bring t em into re-en aged position following on a back fire. t is another object of the present invention to secure a device wherein the mere rotation of the crank will automatically bring the arts of the re-engaged relation, and whic will at the same time have means to positivel prevent the re-engagement of the parts'l uring the reverse rotation of the cranking shaft which follows on a back fire.

Still another object of the construction is to reduce the friction encountered in carrying out the demeshing or tripping movement. As will be seen later this is important in connection with the device like the one of the showing where only a relatively small force is conveniently available for carrying out the demeshing movement.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple form of constructionv in which a normally operative driving connection lis promptly, positively and automatically intercepted upon any tendency oit the driven member to be reversed or even decelerated in speed while turning forwardly.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a means that will not onl disengage upon a back fire or other shoe to the) driven mechanism but that will stay out of engagement until reverse rotation of the driven member following on suchy back fire has substantially ceased.

This invention contemplates the utilization of a clutching mechanism including a driving member and a driven lmember in which the clutching .connection is normally .maintained by a spring tending to hold the parts in their usual driving relation and in which an inertially controlled member .neraaac moves a latch or pawl member into inoperative position automatically on a reversal in movement of the driven'member.

Various other objects .and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and a careful consideration of the following particular description 4and claims of 4one form of mechanism embodying our invention.

lin the drawings Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of our invention illustrating the preferred embodi- A ment and showing the elements in a normal Figure 5 is a fragmentary view on the same scale as Figs. 1 and 2 showing some of the elements transposed so as to permit of the mechanism being used for rotation'in a counter direction of that shown in Fig. 1.

With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, 10 designates the end of a starting shaft, suitably connected to the engine to be started (not shown), 11 denotes in general what hereinafter will be' more specifically referred to' as the driving member. To one end an arm 12 ofthe driving member 11 there is 'connected a handle 13 and at the other end thereof is formed integral therewith a hol-,-

ortion 111 having a low cylindrical body sleeve or bearing 15.' at will be hereinafter specifically referred to as the driven member is a disk member 2d having an integral journal portion 16 rotatably mounted in the bearing 15 and secured a ainst axial movement thereon by the screw 1 and the shoulder 18. An also integral enlarged sleeve portion 19 is adapted to fit upon the end of the starting shaft 10 and having a driving relation therewith by means of a 'pin 21 secured inthe shaft 10, said pin engaging the slot 22 of the sleeve 19.

The disk is housed within "the body 14 of the driving member 11 and is concentric therewith. f i

lln a reinforced portion 26 of the disk 24 i, and on the periphery thereof there is formed zin-elongated notch 27 havin conveniently rounded 'inner corners 28. pon thevdisk 424 there is secured by means of a screw 29 and `a pin 31, a bent sprin 32, and rotatably mounted thereon is a rol er 33 of approximately the same diameter as the depth of 19 projects; the

' arm 41 by means of a screw navegan the notch 27 and of such length as to conform with the thickness in cross section of the reinforced portion 26. The roller 33 is disposed within the notclr27 in a manner so as to permit of it being operated therein as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Upon a stud 34 secured in the driving member 11 there is mounted in an oscillatory manner a member 36 having an upwardly extending off-set lever 37 terminating into a relatively massive weight 38. The lower portion of the member 36 comprises two outwardly and downwardly extending arms 39 and 41 connecting with an integral and also relatively massive weight 42 thus forming an opening 43 "through whichthe sleeve bosses v44 acting as stops for the member 36 to limit the movement thereof.

Mounted on the stud 34 and secured'to the 45 is a latch or to engage:- the roller and pawl 46 adapted 27 and to be held in efthereby the notch fective relation therewith by a spring 47 bearing against the pa-wl 46. Itis important that the driving effort on the pawl 46 should have no reaction tending to move this gagement.

member either into or out of operative en- To this end then the operative driving face the roller and the corresponding driving face 49 of the slot 27 in the disk 24 are made as 'portions of arcs concentric with the pinl 34.

The weight 42'is of such mass as to provide a counter-balance for the weight 38 to prevent' the pawl 46 being released due to the effect of gravity or centrifugal force acting-on the weight 38 when in certain positions, while the driving member is being rotated.

In operation and first considering the normal positions of the 'members as shown in Fig. 1, it will be understood that the tension of the spring 47 is such as to maintain the reference to the aspect of Fig. 1 as indicated.

by the arrows. rlhis starting operation of the driving member 11, or in fact any acceleration thereof will result in the inertia of the weights 38 and 42 causing them to lag in their movement and adding to the pressure of the spring 47 in maintaining the pawl 46 in a clutching position. rlhe disk 24 will thus be rotated with the arm 12 through the intermediary of the pawl 46 and the roller 33 and will in turn rotate the sha-ft 10 by means of the pin and sleeve 19.

In the event of the driven mechanism decelerating its speed or suddenly reversing its rotation for reasons such as a back hre 48 of the pawlwhich engages.V

slot connection in the of the engine connected to the driven member by means of the shaft 10, the active inertia or momentum of the weights would oppose such deceleration of reversal of rotation and cause the lever 37 to move against the tension of the spring 47 and thereby disengage the pawl 46 from the disk 24 as shown in Fig. 3, and permit the disk to spin around with the shaft without affecting the driving member which would remain at rest or continue on in its initial direction. While the disk is being thus idly rotated in this manner, the pawl 46 bears against the periphery thereof, but due to the speed of rotation of said disk the pawl will jump the gap and not engage the roller. To this end the circumferential length of the notch 27 and the shape of the end ofthe pawl 46 are proportioned so that the pawl will only fall into the slot and re-engage the roller when the relative speed of movement between the hand crank and the disk 24 is low. In order to re-engage the pawl after it is released the hand crank is rotated slowly, the driven disk 24 being then at rest, and as soon as the pawl gets into line with the slot 27 re-engagement will be effected by the spring 47. Such reengagement cannot occur while the driven disk 24 is rotating backwards with any considerable velocity such as occurs following on a back fire but as the disk 24 slows down in its reversed movement caused by the back lire to a relatively slow speed such remeshino' can occur, andthe parts will then be in drlving relation provided the remeshing occurs without violence. The strength of the spring 47 and the-mass of the weight 38 are so proportioned that the spring is only capable of accelerating the weight 38 relatively slowly, therefore the riding of the pawl over the slot is assured, except at extremelyy low relative speed.

lt will be seen that immediately after disengagement due to back fire the starting drive shaft 10 will be rotating backwards at high speed and that serious damage to the parts or the operator would ensue should the driving connection remesh before the driven shaft has ceased to rotate backwards.

Referring to Fig. 4 the pawl 46 is shown inthe act of releasing or dcclutching from its normal driving position as bearing against the roller 33.- lt will be noticed that the areas of contact due to the contour of the engaging parts and the outwardA movement of the roller remain approximately constant throughout the whole trip'- ping movement up to and including the instant of release, also that the roller partly facilitates the releasing of the pawl by reducing the friction at this point.

Referring to Fig. 5 the pawl 46 and the roller 33 are shown in a transposed position from that shown in Fig. 1. lVhen it becomes desirable to convert the driving member from operating in a counter clockwise direction to a clockwisel direction .the above mentioned parts can be readily connected as shown.

It is to be noted that tlie reversal of rotation of the shaft 10 due to a back tire is relatively violent consisting of a very sudden and powerful jerk on the driven member causing ofttinies serious injury to the operator when the driving member is manually operated without automatic releasing' means. It is possible with a device of the character disclosed to positively eiect an instantaneous disengagement of the driving connection automatically and without any tend# ency to transmitting the reversed torque of thedi'iven member to vthe driving member. The driving connection not onlyi becomes promptly inoperative at the first disposition of the driven member to reverse butalso acts promptly even on a deceleration of its speed.

Variations may be resorted to within the 'scope of the invention and portions of the improvement may be' used without others whilst not departing from the spirit of the invention. d d

Y Having thus describedv our invention, we

claim 1.A In a device of the character described,

the combination of a driving member, a

driven member, a normally operative diivf ing connection comprising a latch associated,

with the driving member and adapted to engage tlie driven member by means' of an -intei-posed anti-friction roller., means for maintaining the driving connection in an operative position, means for supporting the roller in operative relation with said driving connection, and means adapted to be- A come operative when lthe rotation of the driven member becomes opposed to that of the driving member to cause said driving connection to become ineiiective.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a pawl a roller and a notch coacting to formv a driving connection -between'the driving and the driven members and a weighted lever voperatively connected to the pawl to control the same.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a normally operative driving connection therebetween comprising a pawl carried-by the driving member and engagingtlie driven member, a spring acting on the pawl lunder normal conditions to maintain said pawl in an effective position, a roller for said pawl to bear against and a weighted lever carried by the dri-ving mem- 4f. lin a device ofthecharacter described,

navegas the combination of a driving member, a

driven member, a pawl associated with the for actuating said pawl into a released pod sition, and a roller on'a driven member interposed between the pawl and said driven member adapted to minimize the friction between tlie paw] and the driven member when said pawl is being released.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a driving and a driven member, a pawl mounted on the driving member, a notch in the driven member, a resilient member carried by the driven meinber and Ahaving a roller mounted thereon, said roller disposed within said notch, a resilient member carried by the' driving member adapted to maintain the pawl in an engaged position in the notch and against said roller under normal operating conditions and a weighted lever pivotally mounted-in manner so as to e'ect a release of the pawl under abnormal conditions.

6. ln a device for starting engines and the like, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a positive driving connection therebetweenoperatively engaging the driven member and adapted tobe moved to a disengaged position, driving 'surfaces on the driving connection and the driven meinbers so constituted that 'the areas in contact of said driving surfaces will remain approximately constant while the driving connection is moving towards the disengaged position.

7. In a device for starting engines and the like, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a normally eective posi- -tive driving connection comprising a latch therebetween, an interposedV element associated with the driven member and the driving connection and adapted toV establish contact therewith and so constituted that the areas in contact of the interposed element and the driving connection will remain approximately constant while passing from an engaged to a disengaged position, and means whereby the driving connection will automatically become inedective.

8. lin a device for starting engines andthe like, in combination, a power member con-v stituting the Adriving means, a driven mem- A Vmeans tor moving the navegan 9. A demeshing device comprising a drivmember, a latch pivoted thereto, a

having a driving face adapted to engage a driving face on said latch by means oi an interposed roller and inertia driving tace ot said latch away from contact' with said roller. 10. lin the art of disconnecting a' driving in driven member A from a driven means, a latch pivoted to the driving means for demeshment from the driven means and having a face concentric with the pivot point of said latch, a corresponding face on the driven means, and a flexibly held roller interposed between the two said faces whereby a sliding contactbetween the faces durng'the deineshing movement is eliminated.

11.- A back tire release device including a crank handle, a latch pivoted thereto, a driven disk a notch in the Aperipheryl thereof and a roller in said notch adapted toengage said latch and to ladord rolling contact therefor and means for retracting the latch from contact with the said roller.

l2. lln a device for cranking engines and the like, in combination, inertially controlled ylatch pivoted thereto, a driven member having a notch normally engaged by said latch through 1 the intermediary ot an interpcsed roller in said notch, means adapted to edect a disengagement of the latch, and with the driven means except under conditions of relatively low velocities therebetween.

13. 'ln apparatus of the class described, in combination, a driving means, a driven means, a latch coacting with a roller to engage and disengage said means, and means comprising said latch and roller whereby engagement is onl possible at low relative speeds between t c driving and the drivenA means.

la. ln apparatus ot the class described, in combination, a driving means, a driven means, a latch on the dri. means engaging a roller on the driven means, said latch releasing the driven means under a sudden reversal ot said driven means and so constituted as to rta-establish the driving connection only when the relative speed between the driving and the driven means is low.

l5. ln apparatus ot the class described, in combination, a drivin means9 a driven means, an' automaticaly severable connection therebetween l comprising a roller adapted to move with a latch to a disengaging point and means tov prevent the re-engagement or the parts while the driven means is rotatin wih substantial velocity relative to the drlvin means. 16. In a device for isconnecting a driving from a driven member, in combination, a .roller interposed between driving faces on the driving. and driven members pectively, a' releasing member adap to' move wi a handcrank, an

said roller to a disengaging point, and means associated with said releasing member whereby its driving face may be retracted from engagement with said roller to ed'ect a severance of the driving connection,

17. A device for disconnecting a driving from a driven member comprising, driving faces on the driven and driving members respectively, means on one member whereby its drivenface may be moved from engagement, an anti-friction roller interposed between said driving faces, the driving faces being disposed with their surfaces substantially normal to the direction of load between themwhereby reactions from said driving load which would tend to cause disengagement are eliminated.

18. lin apparatus ot the class described, a driving. gaging portion on the driving means, a latch having an engaging portion and adapted to engage the driven means through the intermediary of an inte adapted to minimize wear .of portions.

19. ln apparatus for severing the connection between driving and a driven means, a

t e engaging osed roller l means land a driven means, an enlatch on the driving means, an engaging face i said latch in and out ot engagement withv said roller. L

20. lin the art of disconnecting a driving from a driven means while under load, a fulcrum on the driving means, a latch pivoted thereon and having a driving face concentric with said fulcrum, a corresponding face on the driven means also concentric with said ulcrum when the parts are 'in engaged relation and a resiliently retained roller between said concentric driving faces the whole organized so as to sever the driving connection on suitable movement of said latch.

2l. lin the artot severing the connection between a ldriving and a driven member, driving faces on the driven and driving members respectivelyy coactingwith an interposed anti-friction roller whereby disengagement may be edected without sliding friction, and inertia means for edecting said disengagement.

22. ll'n the art ot severing the connection between a driving driving faces on the driven and driving and a driven member,-

members respectively demeshably coacting 23. In apparatus of the class described, a

driving means, a -driven means, a latch th adapted to form a severable driving connecendent `of an antion between said means, a roller interposed -between the latch and one of said means for the Aminimizing of wear of 'the eagiiig.

i starting engines and the. like, in combination, a driving and a driven member, a normally operative severable driving p connection therebetweenk comprising a roller and a latch thereagainst, means for automatically severing said driving connection upon retraction of the latch `from the roller by a sudden adverse rotation ot the driven member and means whereby thedriving connection is automatically restored to an operative position when the relative speed of the driven and the driving members-is low.

26. lin a device for manually rotating -drive shaft to start an engine, in combination, a driving member, a driven member, means .on the drlven member to engage the drive shaft to rotate the same, a normally operative driving connection between the driving and the driven member com rising a latch, a notch and a roller resilient y held in said notch, means for automatically severingy said driving connection when the rotation of the drive shaft becomes opposed vto that of the driven member 'and means .whereby the ydriving connection is automatically restored to an operative position when the relative rotational speed of the driven and the driving members is low.

27. lln a device of the class described, the combination with an internal combustion engine having. a I' drivey shaft,v of a drivin ymember, a driven member loosely. mouiite on the drive shaft in a manner to engage the same for rotation, a normally operative driving-connection between the 'driving and the driven member comprisinga means engaging an anti-friction member, means for automatically severing said driving connection when the rotation of the drive shaft becomes opposed tothat of the driven mem-L- ber, and means whereby the driving connection is automatically ing manner is-normally rotated.'

combination, a hand-'crank'constituting the driving means, a driven means adapted te be secured to an engine shaft, the driven means mounted for rotation in the driving means, a notch in thedriven means, a roller Hexibly held in said notch, a latch pivoted vlatch therebetween, an interpose 28. ln a device of Athe class described, in" ,'sl'irfacesg`v fSigned y f mouth andy State ot New Jersey `day ofvNovember, A.' D. 1922.

navegas :the latch in an engaged position, 'a weights lever adapted to asslst said spring means in maintaining the latch in engad position when the hand crank is normal? o eratcd, said wei hted lever further adapte to effeet4 a re eas-e of the latch when the hand crank is abnormally rotated and a counterl balance for said weighted lever.

29. ln a device of the class described, in combination, a driving means, a driven means, a severable driving connection therebetween comprising a notch a roller and a maintained. in an operative position when the driving means is normally rotated and to be moved into an inoperative position when said driving means is abnormally rotated and means whereby the driving connection is adapted to form a drive `in either a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction as desired.

30. ln a device of the character described, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a pawl associatedwith the driving member engaging a roller associated with the driven member in a manner so as to normally form a driving connection between said driving and driven memlatch, 'said driving connection adapted to be bers, said pawl and roller so constitutedas to minimize friction in 'a releasing action.

the like,`the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a normally effective positive .driving connection com rising a element associated with the driven memberl and the driving connection and adapted to establish contact therebetween and so constituted .that a sliding contact of the parts when disengaging is eliminated, and means responsive to a deceleration of the driving means for actuating said latch.

32. ln a device for starting engines and the like, the combination of a driving member, a driven member, a normally eiective positive' driving;l connection comprising an inertially controlled latch therebetween, an interposed element associated lwith the driven-member andthe driving connection *and adapted vto establish contact therebetween and vso constituted that a movement .notano cerraron- ALEXANDER n. nine.

liti aged to a disengaged position, 

